Introduction: What is NSFS 383? In the world of federal statistical research, few datasets carry as much weight as the National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) . However, for researchers focused specifically on the workforce outcomes of doctorate holders, the alphanumeric code NSFS 383 represents a critical touchpoint. While often confused with general NSF surveys, NSFS 383 refers to a specific historical cycle and data extraction protocol related to the Survey of Doctorate Recipients (SDR) .
| Survey | Acronym | Focus | Sample | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | SDR | Doctorate holders only | 160,000 | | NSCG | National Survey of College Graduates | Bachelor's + | 120,000 | | SESTAT (discontinued) | Scientists and Engineers Statistical Data System | Integrated (BA to PhD) | Variable | | NCES SED | Survey of Earned Doctorates | New PhDs only (graduation year) | 55,000/year | nsfs 383
Unlike the , which captures intent at graduation, NSFS 383 captures realized outcomes 2, 5, and 10 years later. How to Clean and Weight NSFS 383 Data in R/Stata Here is a practical code snippet for users working with the public-use NSFS 383 file in R. Introduction: What is NSFS 383
# Load NSFS 383 public-use data library(haven) nsfs383 <- read_dta("nsfs383_puf.dta") library(survey) options(survey.lonely.psu = "adjust") design <- svrepdesign( data = nsfs383, repweights = "rw_[0-9]+", type = "BRR", weights = ~wtsurvy, combined.weights = TRUE ) Subset to full-time employed PhDs in academia academic <- subset(design, emp_status == "fulltime" & work_sector == "academia") Estimate median salary by gender svyby(~salary, ~gender, academic, svyquantile, quantiles = 0.5, ci = TRUE) While often confused with general NSF surveys, NSFS
For early-career researchers: start with the public-use file to develop your models. Once your manuscript is ready for submission to a top-tier journal (e.g., Science , Nature Biotechnology , or American Sociological Review ), apply for the restricted-use NSFS 383 file to add geographic and high-resolution salary controls.